Attempting Normal

By: Marc Maron

Narrated by: Marc Maron

Length: 5 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

People make a mess.

Marc Maron was a parent-scarred, angst-filled, drug-dabbling, love-starved comedian who dreamed of a simple life: a wife, a home, a sitcom to call his own. But instead he woke up one day to find himself fired from his radio job, surrounded by feral cats, and emotionally and financially annihilated by a divorce from a woman he thought he loved. He tried to heal his broken heart through whatever means he could find—minor-league hoarding, Viagra addiction, accidental racial profiling, cat fancying, flying airplanes with his mind—but nothing seemed to work. It was only when he was stripped down to nothing that he found his way back.

Attempting Normal is Marc Maron’s journey through the wilderness of his own mind, a collection of explosively, painfully, addictively funny stories that add up to a moving tale of hope and hopelessness, of failing, flailing, and finding a way. From standup to television to his outrageously popular podcast, WTF with Marc Maron, Marc has always been a genuine original, a disarmingly honest, intensely smart, brutally open comic who finds wisdom in the strangest places. This is his story of the winding, potholed road from madness and obsession and failure to something like normal, the thrillingly comic journey of a sympathetic f***up who’s trying really hard to do better without making a bigger mess. Most of us will relate.

Praise for Attempting Normal

“I laughed so hard reading this book.”—David Sedaris

“Funny . . . surprisingly deep . . . laced with revelatory insights.”—Los Angeles Times

“Superb . . . A reason that [it] is a superior example of an overcrowded genre—the comedian memoir—is Mr. Maron’s hardheaded approach to his history, the wisdom of experience.”—The New York Times

“Marc Maron is a legend because he is both a great comic and a brilliant mind. Attempting Normal is a deep, hilarious megashot of feeling and truth as only this man can administer.”—Sam Lipsyte

Praise for Marc Maron and WTF

“The stuff of comedy legend.”—Rolling Stone

“Marc Maron is a startlingly honest, compelling, and hilarious comedian-poet. Truly one of the greatest of all time.”—Louis C.K.

“I’ve known Marc for years and I can tell you first hand that he’s passionate, fearless, honest, self-absorbed, neurotic, and screamingly funny.”—David Cross

“Revered among his peers . . . raw and unflinchingly honest.”—Entertainment Weekly

“Devastatingly funny.”—Los Angeles Times

“For a comedy nerd, this show is nirvana.”—Judd Apatow

©2013 Random House Audio (P)2013 Marc Maron

Critic reviews

“Funny . . . surprisingly deep . . . laced with revelatory insights.” (Los Angeles Times)

“Superb . . . A reason that [it] is a superior example of an overcrowded genre—the comedian memoir—is Mr. Maron’s hardheaded approach to his history, the wisdom of experience.” (The New York Times)

Maron's story is neurotic, self-aware and pure.

Would you consider the audio edition of Attempting Normal to be better than the print version?

I do not know.

What other book might you compare Attempting Normal to and why?

Howard Stern's Private Parts.

Which scene was your favorite?

Not one in particular. The narrative is great from start to stop. If you like WTF, then you know Marc is not afraid to bare his soul...and the demons which plague him.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. I was compelled to keep going, although I could not due to real life time constraints.

Any additional comments?

Totally worth a glimpse into Marc's past, present and what we hope for his future. Plus...nobody tells a story about a person better than the subject!

Standup in book form.

This book is not only a perfect example of Marc Maron as a person, it's also a good representation of his comedy. I found myself saying, "I've heard this joke before" but then he adds to it, or changes the story in such a way to reveal a bit more of his personality.

hilarious and self deprecating

Need to feel like your problems are simple? Looking for a healthy dose of "I'll make it through this". Check out this book. Marc is a top notch narrator for these bits and pieces of his life story.

Excellent book

At first I was taken aback by the style this book was read. Then after the first few chapters and it not changing, I realized that must have been his style, adding another dimension of the faster, more pressured reading. Between the drugs and women and booze and frustration and unhappiness, it was a life I have found myself drifting towards. This is no longer a problem for me nor is it for him, but I liked the resolution… cheers.

Liked it

What did you love best about Attempting Normal?

I liked this book a lot. I've listened to his podcast on and off. I recognized a couple of bits from there, which is cool.

I do have one issue with it.

The only thing I'd say is Maron comes off as a bit of a racist in this book. It's kind of intense and surprising and I don't remember thinking that while I listened to his podcasts. In one chapter he talks about being afraid on the plane because he thinks it is about to be subject to a terrorist attack because some guy of an unclear ethnicity is standing by the bathroom. Maron has a panic attack over it. What the hell? Really? It's under this guise of "you know what I mean," wink wink, as if most people have thoughts like that when seeing men of different ethnicities on airplanes, which is just stupid, and makes me think, "Wow, old white guys really do think that stuff, huh? Amazing."

In another chapter he talks about seeing black guys with afros and thinking what typical black guys they are and how cool that is. How cool it was the time a black guy shined his shoes. How cool it was the time he was indignant on behalf of a black guy. How he thought black people were "real" when he was growing up, though he was afraid of them. But hey, he's not racist, he says, he likes Richard Pryor after all!

It doesn't feel like "being honest in the name of art" or whatever, or like he's expressing the racism that exists in the U.S. It just sounds like he's racist.

Other than that, I really did like the book.

Solid comedic memior

This is a good way to spend a rainy day. It's not as enjoyable as David Sadaris, but it's still an enjoyable listen.

I enjoyed this Maronology!

This puts Marc's story all together in one place, in his voice. I loved it.

Simply the Best

I love you Marc Maron. I love you Marc Maron. I love you Marc Maron. I love you Marc Maron. Yes sir it’s true. I really do. Love you.

A sad, funny man

I'm sure this book will polarise listeners / readers. If you have your life all together, then you will most likely thoroughly dislike this needy, self centred and often pathetic man, and hate the book. If however, you have you own special basket of issues you wrestle with on a daily basis, chances are you will warm to and be charmed by this needy, self centred and often pathetic man, and love the book.
I loved the book - its one of the best I've heard on audible. Laugh out loud funny in places.

Authentic, Thought-provoking and Funny

Attempting Normal was a great listen. It got me thinking about my place in the world. Maron's description of his struggles and triumphs is really inspiring.